Packaging and shipping container for eggs and the like



y 1969 A. EISENBERG 3,446,417

PACKAGING AND SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS AND THE LIKE Filed March 2, 1967 Sheet of 4 INVENTOR.

. ziyred fi zs'zzbezg BY ATTORNEYS- y 1969 A. EISENBERG 3,446,417

PACKAGING AND SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS AND THE LIKE Filed March 2. 1967 Sheet 3 014 m ,a I Z ATTORNEYS INVENTOR.

A. EISENBERG PACKAGING AND SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS AND THE LIKE Filed March 2, 1967 May 27, 1Q69 y 7, was A. EISENBERG 3,446,417

PACKAGING AND SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS AND THE LIKE Filed March 2. 1967 Sheet 4 of 4 i 4! INVENTOR. 5 9 2 603 11252922662? 42 Q Z ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,446,417 PACKAGING AND SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS AND THE LIKE Alfred Eisenberg, 200 Hibbard Road, Wilmette, II]. 60091 Filed Mar. 2, 1967, Ser. No. 620,127 Int. Cl. B65d 5/24, 5/22, 5/66 US. Cl. 229-36 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cross references to related application A prior application Ser. No. 473,744 filed by me on July 21, 1965, now Patent No. 3,352,477, is directed to a cellular egg tray enclosed in a sleeve and having center posts extending along the center of the tray, engaging the undersurface of the sleeve and protecting the eggs during display and transportation.

My present invention, however, differs from that of my prior application Ser. No. 473,744 in that the protective tray is particularly adapted for containing more than a dozen eggs, and the center posts alternate between high and low center posts, to facilitate the removal of the top tray of a stack of nested trays, when it is desired to load the trays with eggs. Another distinction over my prior application is that the posts extend upwardly from at least two opposite edges of the tray to protect the eggs therein and facilitate the placing of a cover about the tray, and the securing of the cover to the hollow interior portions of the posts.

A further improvement is that the package for the loaded egg tray is in the form of a rectangular corrugated board carton having a top hood with locking tabs extending from the side walls of the hood and engageable with slots opening along the side walls of a next adjacent lower hood, to accommodate interlocking of the cartons with each other and hold the cartons in aligned relation with respect to each other during transportation.

Summary of the invention and objects In carrying out the present invention, I provide a protective molded tray particularly adapted for eggs generally having ovate cells or pockets and protective posts extending upwardly of the cells. The posts alternate between high and low center posts extending upwardly of the junctions of clusters of cells, to protect the eggs and to facilitate nesting of the empty trays, and the removal of the nested trays for shipment. I further provide a simple interlocking cover for the trays having interlocking engagement with certain posts, extending along the sides of the tray.

I also contain the trays in heavy corrugated board containers in the form of cartons and provide interlocking tabs on one carton engageable with interlocking slots on a next adjacent carton, to accommodate ready stacking of the cartons and the holding of the cartons in aligned relation with respect to each other when stacked.

A principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a novel and improved molded egg tray particularly arranged to be nested when not in use, in which the eggs are protected by high center posts leading upwardly of the junctures of certain clusters of pockets of the tray, and the separation of nested trays is facilitated by alternating the high center posts with low center posts to accommodate the nesting of the high center posts of stacked trays for use.

A further object of the invention is to improve upon the molded egg trays heretofore in use, by providing up wardly extending posts at the juncture of each cluster of egg receiving pockets of the tray and by alternating the heights of the center posts between low and high center posts, to facilitate the stacking of the empty trays and the removal of the stacked trays for use, in which center posts extend along at least two sides of the tray and have hollow interior portions opening downwardly toward the bottom of the tray to facilitate the interlocking of a cover to the hollow interior portions of the center posts extending along the sides of the tray.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of molded egg tray and protective sleeve therefor, wherein the tray has hollow posts extending along at least two opposite sides of the tray and the sleeve has tabs having interlocking engagement with the hollow interior portions of the posts.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a protective enclosure for egg trays, filled with eggs, in the form of a rectangular corrugated container having a top in the form of a hinged hood, having locking tabs extending from the side walls of the hood and adapted to have interengagement with the slots in the top wall of a next adjacent hood, to accommodate locking of the loaded containers with respect to each other for shipment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an interlocking container particularly adapted for the containing of egg trays loaded with eggs and the shipment of the trays to a destination, in which the container is constructed in a novel and improved manner, with spaced slots opening to the tops thereof and interlocking tabs leading from the bottoms thereof, for interlocking engagement with the slots of a next downwardly spaced container, to contain the loaded containers in stacked relation for shipment.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of an egg tray and protective carton therefor, constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention showing a part of the top of the carton broken away.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the tray shown in FIGURE 1, substantially along the line II-II of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the blank forming the cover for the tray.

FIGURE 4 is a side view of a sleeve covering an egg tray, and locked in position by engagement with the interior of a hollow protective post.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a carton blank forming a protective container for the trays loaded with eggs.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the canton showing the carton inverted and resting on its top and also showing the carton in an open position, with certain parts broken away and certain other parts in section.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VII-VII of FIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view showing a series of stacked cartons constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

In FIGURE 1 of the drawings I have shown in plan view a rectangular packaging container or carton 10 containing a cellular egg tray 11, with a portion of a top wall 12 of the carton broken away to show the cellular egg tray, and showing a front end flap 13 hinged to a bottom wall 15 of the carton, in an open position.

The egg tray 11 is shown as being a molded cellular tray which may be molded from wood pulp or any other suitable material, in a conventional manner. The tray 11 has a plurality of rows of integrally formed cells or egg containing pockets 16 having side walls 18, 18 sloping upwardly from the bottoms thereof, at relatively steep angles, to provide generally ovate egg pockets substantially conforming to the lower halves of the eggs contained within the pockets. The side walls 13 between the pockets terminate into ledges 19 separating the individual pockets, while the side walls at the junctures of each cluster of four pockets terminate into hollow protective posts 20 and 21. The protective posts 20 extend slightly above side and end walls 23 of the tray and the protective posts 21 extend a substantial distance above said side walls to a height greater than the height of the eggs to be contained within the tray, to form a protection for the eggs. Posts 25, having hollow interior portions 27, 27 are also molded to extend upwardly of the side and end walls 23 of the tray between each two pockets of each cluster of pockets. The hollow posts 25, 25 extend for the height of the posts 21, and while the posts 25, 25 are shown in FIGURE 1 as extending about the sides and ends of the tray, in certain instances they need only extend along opposite sides of the tray.

In storing the trays for use, the trays may be nested one on top of the other, with the high posts nested within each other. The low posts 20, however, while serving to protect the eggs, enter into the large diameter portions of the next adjacent upper posts. This provides clearance between the short posts and their next adjacent posts, within which the short posts are nested with a resultant reduced number of posts in relatively close nested engagement with each other, facilitating the separation of the trays for use but not sacrificing the protection afforded by the posts.

The end posts 25, besides protecting the eggs, serve as interlocking supports for a cover 28, which may be placed over the tray (FIGURE 2) and may have tabs 29 engaged with the hollow interior portions of the end posts, as by the tabs 29, extending upwardly along the inner and outer sides of the end posts 25 from the bottoms thereof, into the hollow interior portions 27 thereof.

The cover 28 may be formed from a fiat piece of cardboard which may be a corrugated board with opposite sloping sides 26 bent along score lines 28 (FIGURE 2) to conform to the sloping sides of the end posts 25. The tabs 29 may then be bent along score lines 29 and 29 to extend upwardly within the hollow interior portions 27 of the end protective posts 25 and thereby lock the cover in position over the eggs in the tray.

The cardboard from which the cov r 28 is made preferably should be of a material in which the tabs when once bent inwardly will acquire a more or less permanent set. One set of tabs 29 may thus initially be bent inwardly and engaged within the hollow interior portions of the posts 25. The cover may then be hinged about the score line 28 downwardly into engagement with the tops of the posts 25 and 21. The tabs 29 at the opposite side of the tray may then be tucked within the hollow interior portions 27 of the posts 25 into engagement with the walls of the posts to lock the cover in position as shown in FIGURE 2.

This provides a semi-permanent lock, and while it can be released by placing a finger within each hollow interior portion of the end ports 25 and grasping the individual tab by the finger, a tear strip (not shown) may be provided in the cover, to enable the cover to readily be released for the removal of eggs from the tray.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate a modified form of closure for egg trays constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. In this form of the invention a tray 60 is shown as having high protective hollow posts 61 extending along the center thereof and as having hollow end posts 62 extending along the sides thereof and opening downwardly. The end posts 60 provide hollow interior wall portions 63, to be interlockingly engaged by locking tabs 65, pressed inwardly of side walls 66 and 67 of a sleeve 69, herein shown as being rectangular in cross section.

The rectangular sleeve may, of course, be widened to contain more than one tray 60 or to contain a tray like the tray 11, in which case the locking tabs 65 will have locking engagement with the hollow interior portions 27 of the end posts 25.

As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the sleeve 69 has a cover 70 bent to be hinged along the top portion of the side wall 66 downwardly along the tops of the end posts 62 and the center posts 61, and has a flap 71 bent to extend downwardly along the side wall 67. The flap 70 has spaced locking tabs 72 depending therefrom for engagement within slits 73 formed in the side wall 67.

When the tray 60 is filled with eggs it may be placed in the sleeve 69 from the top thereof. When placing the tray in the sleeve, the locking tabs 65 are first pressed inwardly to engage within the hollow interior wall portions 63 as the tray is placed within the sleeve. The cover 70 is then hinged over the top of the protective posts 61 .and 62, and the locking tabs 72 are lockingly engaged within the slits 73, locking the sleeve in closed position and positively locking the tray within the sleeve.

This forms a positive locking means for the tray, which may only be released by tearing the tabs 72. Where it may be desired to atford ready access to the tray, a convengignal tear strip (not shown) may extend along the cover The shipping containers or cartons for the filled egg trays may contain the trays filled with eggs, either with or without the covers 28. It should also be understood that the trays when filled with eggs may be slipped within conventional plastic sleeves which may be beat shrunk to the trays, or may be contained within the sleeves 69. The shipping container 10 may be made from a cormgated board, and is shown to FIGURES 1, 4, 5 and 6 as including a top hood 30 having parallel end walls 31 and 32 and side walls 33, 33 connected together by the top wall 12. The hood 30 forms a closure for a bottom wall 15. The bottom 15 for the hood is hinged to extend outwardly of the end wall 32 and has opposite side flaps 37, 37 fitting within the side walls 33, 33- when closing the container. The bottom wall 15 forms the bottom for the container and has an end flap 39 bent along a score line 40 and having inwardly bent locking tabs 41, 41 spaced outwardly of the side flaps 37. The end wall 39 of the bottom 15 extends along the outside of the end wall 31 of the hood 30, while the locking tabs 41, 41 are adapted to fit within slots 42 formed in the side walls 33, 33, to lock the carton in its closed position.

Each side wall 33 of the hood 30 is of a three-ply construction formed by bending the side walls intermediate the ends thereof, along score lines 43 and 44 over spacers 45 and 46, bent inwardly of the respective end walls 31 and 32 along score lines 47 and 48 respectively. The spacers 45 and 46, respectively, have slots 49 and 50 formed therein opening to the inner ends thereof and in registry with elongated rectangular slots 51 formed in the top 12 of the hood. The slots 49 and 50 are longer than the slots 51 to accommodate locking tabs 53 of a next adjacent upper container to be inserted in the slots 51 through the top of the container and to then accommodate the next adjacent upper container to be moved along the lower container to align the containers and lock the containers for stacking or carrying in stacked relation with respect to each other.

The locking tabs 53 are punched from the corrugated board forming the side walls 33, and each has a neck portion 54 and a locking portion 55 extending from the neck portion 54, in parallel relation with respect to the bottom of the container beyond the neck portion to form a slot 56, between said tab and the associated side wall, to thereby accommodate the containers to be stacked by placing the locking tabs within the slots 51, with the containers in misaligned relation with respect to each other, and to then accommodate movement of the top container along the bottom container to align and lock the container.

The side walls 33 when bent inwardly along the score lines 43 and 44 over the spacer flaps 45 and 46, have sufficiently close fits between the end walls 31 and 32 to lock the hood 30 in assembled relation, upon inward bending of the side walls along the score lines 43 and 44.

When loading egg trays in a container 10, the containers are inverted from the position shown in FIGURE 7 and placed on the bottom 36 thereof. A tray loaded with eggs is then placed on the bottom 15. The hood 30 is then hinged over the loaded container on the bottom 15 with the side flaps 37 positioned along the inner sides of the side walls 33. The container is then locked closed by inserting the locking tabs 41, 41 on the front end flap 39 in the slots 42, 42. The containers may then be stacked by inserting the locking tabs 53 within the slots 51, with the containers ofiset rearwardly of each other, and then moving the top container forwardly along the bottom container, to bring the tabs 53 in locking relation with respect to the bottom container and to thereby hold the containers in stacked relation with respect to each other. The bottom container may be placed on a pallet extending inwardly of the depending locking tabs 53, 53, or may rest on the ground directly on said locking tabs, enabling a person to get his fingers under the cartons when lifting the container loaded with filled egg trays for transportation.

The container, of course, may be inverted and the hood 30 may form the bottom of the container, while the hinged cover 35 may close the container. The container also may have many other uses than for shipping egg tra s.

V Vhile I have herein shown and described several forms in which the invention may be embodied, it should be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a packaging device for eggs and the like and in combination with a cellular egg tray having a plurality of egg pockets therein having inclined side walls extending above said pockets and defining protective posts for the eggs in the tray, the improvement comprising:

a rectangular shipping container for said tray and the eggs therein accommodating safe stacking of the loaded containers for shipment,

said shipping container having a bottom wall having a hood having a top wall and at least two side walls extending along the outside of the side walls of said bottom wall,

said side walls being three-ply side walls and the innermost plies of said side walls having slots therein,

said top wall having spaced rectangular slots extending downwardly therein along said side walls and registering with the slots between said inner and outer plies of said side walls,

and said side walls having locking tabs depending therefrom adapted to have interengagement with the slots in the next adjacent downwardly spaced container and to extend between the plies of said side walls and retain filled containers in alignment with each other, when stacked for shipment.

2. In a packaging device for eggs and the like and in combination with a cellular egg tray having a plurality of egg pockets therein having inclined side walls extending above said pockets and defining protective posts for the eggs in the ray, the improvement comprising:

a rectangular shipping container for said tray and the eggs therein accommodating safe stacking of the loaded container for shipment,

said container having a bottom wall having a hood hinged thereto having parallel end and side walls and a top wall connecting said end and side walls together,

said side walls being three-ply side walls and the innermost plies of said side walls between the inner and outer plies thereof having slots extending downwardly therealong, said top wall having spaced rectangular slots extending downwardly therein in registry with said slots in the plies of said side walls between the inner and outer plies thereof,

and said side walls having spaced locking tabs extending from said side walls and having elongated portions spaced from said side walls, accommodating movement of a top container interengaged with a lower container into aligned relation with respect to a lower container, and interlocking said containers when in such relation.

3. The structure of claim 2,

wherein the container bottom has inwardly turned flaps fitting along the insides of said side walls and has an end closure flap fitting along the outside of an associated end wall, I

wherein the inner and outer plies of the container open to the front of the container, and

wherein said front flap has locking tabs extending inwardly of opposite sides thereof for engagement with said slots opening to the ends of said side walls, to retain the container in a closed position.

4. An interlocking stackable container for filled egg trays and the like comprising:

a flat bottom having side flaps bent to extend upwardly therefrom,

an upwardly bent end flap and inwardly turned locking tabs extending inwardly of opposite ends of said end flap,

a hood hinged to the end of said bottom opposite said end flap and having a top wall,

parallel spaced end walls and side walls,

said end walls having spacers hinged thereto and bent to extend inwardly thereof, and said side walls being turned over said spacers to form three-ply side walls, the outermost plies of which are spaced apart to form slots opening to the front of said side walls,

said locking tabs being engageable within said slots to lock the hood in a closed position,

said top walls having slots therein registering in the space between the innermost and outermost plies of said side walls,

and the outermost plies of said side walls having locking tabs depending therefrom insertable through said slots in said top wall and movable into the space between the innermost and outermost plies of said side walls and having elongated portions spaced from said side walls accommodating movement of one container along the other and stacking of said containers in alignment with each other and locking the stacked containers from shitting movement with respect to each other.

5. The structure of claim 4,

wherein the spacers have upwardly opening slots therein registering with said slots in said top wall and longer than said slots, to accommodate relative movement of one container along the other, to move the containers into aligned relation.

6. The structure of claim 4,

wherein the locking tabs are generally L-shaped in form and have necks extending from said side walls and tabs extending from said necks along said side walls, to form slots between said side walls and tabs, and accommodate movement of a top container along a next adjacent lower container into locking engagement with the next adjacent lower container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/ 1949 Tomarin 22936 X 4/1951 Butterfill 229-33 X 11/1952 Gibbons 229- 33 11/1959 Goltz 229-36 X 1/ 1962 Mulcoy.

3/ 1962 Layne 229-36 11/ 1963 Martin 22936 12/ 1964- Tunick.

4/ 1965 McMahon.

6/1965 Nute.

US. Cl. X.R. 

